The likely winner of tomorrow's Republican Iowa Caucus, Mike Huckabee, does not disapprove of 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears's plans for motherhood. Although he said that he hopes other teens aren't encouraged by her behavior, he is glad she has chosen to keep her baby. Call me a literalist, but it seems an awful lot like Huckabee is giving unwed teen sex an endorsement. Praising Jamie Lynn while at the same time campaigning on an abstinence-only platform is contradictory. Huckabee believes that teaching anything other than "just say no" may give teens ideas, but if they say yes anyway, like Jamie Lynn did and end up pregnant, well, that's okay because he is pro-life. It is simply untenable to strictly regulate or criminalize abortion but not provide education to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Despite the Bush administration's spending millions on abstinence-only education, the teen birthrate actually increased by three percent in 2006—the first increase in 15 years! So either a bunch of teens skipped that class, or . . . abstinence only doesn't work. In fact, fourteen states agree, and have declined federal education funding that mandates abstinence-only programming, opting instead to provide fuller, and probably more useful, sex education at their read more

A reminiscence of the leader, who was assassinated on December 27 During my sophomore year of college in 1995, I armed myself with a press pass from a small Pakistani-American newspaper and played hooky to see Benazir Bhutto on her official U.S. state visit. Bhutto was a divisive figure for Pakistanis, many of whom viewed her as just another corrupt leader. But seeing her speak at Princeton University that day, I found myself unexpectedly growing proud. She talked about the reforms she planned, the female police officers the country would hire, the micro-loans that would be made to women’s businesses. She refused to tolerate any criticism of Pakistan, even telling a questioner that Washington, D.C. had a higher crime rate than all of Pakistan (which it did, at the time). The moderator, a white male policy analyst at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson school, chuckled in delight at her no-holds-barred approach. I saw, for the first time, how female toughness can unexpectedly disarm critics. No one expects a woman, least of all a Muslim woman, to fight back with paralyzing specificity. After her speech ended, the U.S. Secret Service summarily dismissed every male journalist, leaving me, the sole female, awaiting Bhutto in read more

I hope the presidential candidates have had a chance to see the new movie, The Kite Runner. Evocative and tragic like the novel it is based on, the film has the potential to put Afghanistan back into our campaign discourse, where the topic has been pretty much disregarded. Republican Ron Paul, one of the few candidates who’s actually spoken on Afghanistan policy, has advocated for removing troops. This isolationist view syncs with American anti-war attitudes, but it worries me: Won’t such a tactic essentially abandon Afghanistan to the Taliban? Even Barack Obama has failed to provide meaningful guidance. Although in March he said that we needed to focus on Afghanistan instead of Iraq (not really a satisfactory solution), his only other comment came in August when he said that U.S. troops in Afghanistan are “just air-raiding villages and killing civilians” and that more ground troops are needed. That remark gave Mitt Romney a chance to take a jab at Obama, saying his characterization demonstrates the senator’s lack of experience. Ever the politician, Mitt didn’t take the opportunity to say what he thinks should be done instead. As for the other candidates, they have said … nothing. As long as read more

Last Friday, former President Bill Clinton appeared on The Charlie Rose Show to discuss current politics. Overall, the interview consisted of the usual—dull Clinton self-praise for his presidential years. But then, just before it became too boring, he disparaged Barack Obama’s presidential potential, comparing his experience in office to that of a “television commentator”. Ouch! Bill’s criticism of Obama is especially galling to me because he is a former president and should take on a statesman-like role, engaging in broad discussions but never really jumping into the fray. Obviously, he isn’t the only Significant Other out there taking shots (although none of the others are former presidents). Elizabeth Edwards has been consistently critical of Hillary as has Michelle Obama. Even Anne Romney, highly praised for staying away from attacks generally, likes to point out that her husband, unlike his Republican rivals, has had only one wife. I do expect spouses to support each other in running for office. When Howard Dean’s wife Judith Steinberg chose not to campaign with him, it made me question whether he would be a good president if even his wife wasn’t interested in his campaign. Similarly, Judy Giuliani’s absence from the campaign trail is unnerving—she read more

Hello, Glamocrats! My name is Asma Hasan. Besides being a software attorney here in Denver, Colorado, I am also an author of two books about Islam in America. Everyone always asks me about my political perspective as an American Muslim woman. And now you can find out! I hope you will share your comments on my postings. Unless you shun all media, you already know of Oprah's weekend campaign flurry for Barack Obama. Heralded as a political holy grail, this Hollywood endorsement could be the miracle he needs to defeat Hillary Clinton's political machine. If anyone can make wine out of water these days, it would be Oprah, who turns old Russian novels into bestsellers and gives away cars. As commentators wax philosophical on "The Oprah Effect," I, as a member of the Oprah demographic, am feeling a little marginalized and underestimated. A lot of these pundits seem to think that if Oprah told me to jump off a bridge, I would. (For the record, I wouldn’t!) I do love Oprah. She spoke at my college graduation. Believe me, at a women's college, there is no greater sisterhood moment than Oprah speaking at your commencement. Oprah has taught many women, read more

Asma Gull Hasan, 33, is an attorney and author of Why I Am a Muslim: An American Odyssey and American Muslims: The New Generation. She describes herself as "moderate," and says of her politics, "I⿿ve been an independent, a Democrat and am now registered Republican." She frequently appears on cable news and National Public Radio and is a graduate of Wellesley College and New York University School of Law. "I hate political arguments when people yell at each other," she adds, "because I was involved in too many of these among my high school classmates." Her website is asmahasan.com. read more